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SCNU's athletes won 13 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze medals at China's first Student (Youth) Games held in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Besides cheering for the athletes, the behind-the-scenes stories show us the spirit of youth, fighting and teamwork.
"I am satisfied with this result," said Mai Siwei, a 2022 undergraduate at the School of Physical Education and Sports Science. She won first place in the Women's 4 × 400 m Relay in group A, third place in the Women's 400 m Hurdles in group A, and fifth place in the Women's 400 m group A.
Mai Siwei believes that good results are inseparable from the guidance of coaches. She used to focus on the 400 m and turned to the 400 m hurdles after following her coach's advice. Though she only practised for three months, she was able to perform well in national contests. Now it is not long after the switch, and she is still improving her posture of the hurdling. She believes that she will make progress in the future.
Mai Siwei, a 2022 undergraduate, won first place in the Women's 4 × 400 m Relay in group A.
Grade 2023 undergraduate Zhang Yahui, together with her teammates, won the Women's Team Championship in the golf project representing Team Guangzhou Guangdong. Zhang Yahui had just returned from the United States. Due to a fever and jet lag she found herself in a bad condition and felt nervous. The coach helped her a lot by instructing her in movements, while the team doctor attended to her phisical recovery. Besides, her father's presence also boosted her confidence.
She recalled when Team Guangzhou was nine strokes behind the first-place team, which was a big gap. Later, Zhang Yahui and her teammates managed to turn the tables. All she thought at that moment was to try her best. She was amazed about winning gold: "I can’t believe we made it."
Grade 2023 undergraduate Zhang Yahui won the Women's Team Championship in the golf project.
Zhang Yifan and Li Jielan also won gold medals in their best swimming event. Zhang Yifan is a 2023 postgraduate in Sports Education at the School of Physical Education and Sports Science. She won 6 gold and 1 silver medal at the Games. Li Jielan, a 2022 undergraduate student majoring in Sports Training, won 5 gold and 2 silver medals.
Apart from the individual events, they won 4 gold and 1 silver medals with concerted effort in the relay events. They are not only teammates and schoolmates but also roommates during the Games.
Students Li Jielan (first left) and Zhang Yifan (second left) both won gold in the swimming event.
Teachers of SCNU also contribute to the great achievements. Professor Huang Bo was the deputy head coach of the Swimming Event for Group A college students. The Youth Games are a valuable opportunity for the student-athletes. The team trained for a year and a half for the Games, giving Huang Bo an extra burden.
"We even spent the Chinese New Year's Eve in the swimming pool." Huang joked as he recalled. On the night of Spring Festival, Huang Bo led the swimming team to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province for a new one-month training. The hard work paid off, for every student tried their best and succeeded in winning 23 gold medals.
Professor Huang Bo led the swimming team to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province for a new one-month training during the 2023 Spring Festival.
A total of 41 students of SCNU was selected as athletes of the Guangdong delegation for the Games. Besides, one student was selected as an athlete of the Shanghai delegation, and 2 students as athletes of the Guangzhou delegation of the open group to participate in swimming, track-and-field, martial arts, and 8 other disciplines.
China's first Student (Youth) Games of the People's Republic of China was planned as the National Student Sports Games merging with the Youth Games . It is now the highest-level student sports event nationally, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Sport of the People's Republic of China.
Main achievements of SCNU's athletes
| Event | Name | Achievement |
| Swimming | Huang Yuxin | 2nd in Women's Group A 50 m Backstroke |
| 2nd in Women's Group A 100 m Backstroke | ||
| Huang Yuxin & Yan Yangtongxin | 3rd in Men's and Women's Group A 4×100 m Freestyle Relay | |
| Li Wenyu | 3rd in Men's Group A 4×100 m Freestyle Relay | |
| Yan Yangtongxin | 2nd in Women’s Group A 100 m Butterfly Stroke | |
| Zhang Yifan | 1st in Women's Group B 50 m Butterfly Stroke | |
| 1st in Women's Group B 100 m Butterfly Stroke | ||
| Li Jielan | 1st in Women’s Group B 200 m Freestyle | |
| 2nd in Women’s Group B 100 m Freestyle | ||
| Song Yifei | 2nd in Men’s Group B 200 m Breaststroke | |
| Li Wang | 2nd in Men's Group B 4×100 m Medley Relay | |
| 3rd in Men’s Group B 50 m Breaststroke | ||
| Zhang Yifan & Li JieAlan | 1st in Women's Group B 4×100 m Freestyle Relay | |
| 1st in Women's Group B 4×100 m Medley Relay | ||
| 1st in Women's Group B 4×100 m Medley Relay | ||
| 1st in Men's and Women's Group B 4×100 m Freestyle Relay | ||
| Li Wang & Zhang Yifan & Li Jielan | Li Wang & Zhang Yifan & Li Jielan | |
| Track and Field | Mai Siwei | 3rd in Women’s Group A 400 m Hurdles |
| 3rd in Women’s Group A 400 m Hurdles | ||
| Lian Zhi | 3rd in Women's Group A 400 m | |
| 4th in Women’s Group A 200 m | ||
| Feng Yuhang & Chen Yueyang & Huang Junhao & Chen Yujie | 3rd in Men's Group A 4×400 m relay | |
Mai Siwei & Lian Zhi | 1st in Women’s Group A 4×400 m relay | |
| Huang Junhao | 8th in Men’s Group A 400 m Hurdles | |
| Martial Arts | Wang Junkai | 1st in Men's Qiangshu |
| 8th in Men's Jianshu | ||
| Huang Wenhao | 3rd in Men’s Changquan | |
| 4th in Men’s Daoshu | ||
| Football | Yang Chaoran | 1st in Men’s Football |
| Zhang Yahui | Zhang Yahui | |
| Skateboarding | Zeng Wenhui | 1st in Skateboarding |
See more about behind stories of the athletes:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VCgoRLPryxNMk3tGYjSCFA
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Li Mengjie, Wan Wenhui, Luo Xiaoying
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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